Just as you shouldn't judge a book by the looks of its cover, you shouldn't judge it by the looks of its author. Robert Dessaix, the author of "As I Was Saying", a swirling conversation with the reader on everything from travel to dogs and cats, from sport and swearing to the pleasures of idleness, has been threatened with death ever since he was diagnosed with HIV in 1994, and it has left its marks. He is, of course, the Q in the acronym LGBTQIA but I am forcing myself not to let this distract me from his amazing and insightful writing.
"As I Was Saying" is the one book by Robert Dessaix I hadn't bought yet, nor would I expect to find it in any of Batemans Bay's op-shops, and so I was happy to part with $27.62 to buy it on ebay. His essay on the subjunctive (pages 192 to 200) alone is worth every cent of $27.62 ...
... with his equally delightful essays on travelling and noise and silence and swearing and the use of phrasebooks all coming at no extra cost.
